Blue Humanities in Gun Island- A Study of Water, Migration, and Climate Change.pptx

Blue Humanities in Gun Island- A Study of Water, Migration, and Climate Change

1. ‹#› Blue Humanities in Gun Island: A Study of Water, Migration, and Climate Change

2. Prepared by Dhatri Parmar Roll Number : 6 Enrollment Number : 5108230032 Semester : 4 Batch : 2023-2025 Paper no : 207 Paper Name : Contemporary Literatures in English Submitted to : S. B. Gardi Department of English. Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University Date : 11 March 2025 Email ID: [email protected]

3. Introduction : ‹#› Blue Humanities is a critical field within ecocriticism that shifts focus from land-based environmental studies to oceanic and water-centric narratives.(Mentz) Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island (2019) exemplifies Blue Humanities by depicting water as an active force shaping migration, climate change, and cultural memory. This study examines how Gun Island critiques anthropocentrism, emphasizing the entanglement of humans, water, and non-human ecologies.

4. ‹#› Key scholars: Steve Mentz (2015) – Examined the chaotic and unpredictable nature of water ( Shipwreck Modernity ). Stacy Alaimo (2016) – Introduced trans-corporeality, emphasizing porous boundaries between human bodies and aquatic environments ( Exposed ). Astrida Neimanis (2017) – Developed hydrofeminism, arguing that human identities are fluid and shaped by water ( Bodies of Water ).

5. Research Question & Hypothesis How does Gun Island engage with the Blue Humanities framework to critique climate change, migration, and human-water interconnections? Gun Island employs Blue Humanities to challenge anthropocentric narratives, portraying water as a historical and environmental agent. The novel links climate-induced migration, myth, and ecological disruption, demonstrating how water reshapes human and non-human destinies.

6. Name of the Journal Total of article No of relevant article Taylor & Francis 4 3 Litera: Journal of Language, Literature and Culture Studies 1 1 Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) 1 1 EBSCO 1 ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 2 1 Vidyabharati International Interdisciplinary Research Journal 1 Literature Review

7. ‹#› Scholar(s)/Author(s) Key Argument Source Alaimo, Stacy (2016) Introduces trans-corporeality, linking human bodies with aquatic environments. Exposed: Environmental Politics and Pleasures in Posthuman Times (Academia.edu) Buell, Lawrence (2016) Reviews Steve Mentz’s Shipwreck Modernity , highlighting water’s unpredictability and role in globalization. Critical Inquiry (University of Chicago Press) Chatterjee, Sanjukta (2020) Explores ecological consciousness, religion, and climate change in Gun Island . Epitome Journals Gilson, Edwin (2022) Examines Gun Island as a climate realist novel that presents transnational environmental concerns. Comparative American Studies Khan, Rakibul Hasan (2024) Analyzes Gun Island within planetary environmentalism, showing its engagement with global ecological crises. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction

8. ‹#› Mentz, Steve (2015) Defines Shipwreck Modernity, arguing that the sea resists human control and disrupts historical narratives. Shipwreck Modernity (University of Minnesota Press) Neimanis, Astrida (2017) Develops hydrofeminism, which examines water’s role in shaping gendered identity and ecological awareness. Bodies of Water (Bloomsbury Academic) Nixon, Rob (2011) Introduces slow violence, describing gradual environmental destruction and its impact on marginalized communities. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor (Harvard UP) Tiwari, Chetna (2022) Reads Gun Island through the Anthropocene, emphasizing climate-induced migration and ecological precarity. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)

9. Water as an Agent of Climate Change Gun Island portrays rising sea levels, floods, and storms as active forces reshaping human life. Cyclone Aila devastates the Sundarbans, demonstrating Rob Nixon’s slow violence. (Gilson) “The storm had erased the boundary between land and water” ( Ghosh ). Water is both a site of destruction and renewal. Impact on Ecosystems: Dead zones caused by industrial effluents are reducing oxygen levels. Rani (Tiwari) “The Sundarbans section of Gun Island offers a microcosmic view of the Global South... victims of historical and ongoing injustices further victimized by climate change.”(Khan)

10. The Anthropocene and Eco-Precarity Dipesh Chakrabarty (2021): Calls for the decentering of human history in climate studies​. Pramod Nayar (2019): Highlights eco precarity Ethnographic Surrealism: Combines folklore, myth, and improbable events to critique the inadequacy of strict realism in representing the climate crisis. (Khan) Planetary Consciousness: By connecting disparate locales like the Sundarbans, Los Angeles, and Venice, Ghosh evokes a global awareness of the Anthropocene's interconnected crises.(Tiwari)

11. Migration and the Fluidity of Borders Tied to water’s instability. Migration in the novel is both literal (climate refugees) and metaphorical (fluid identities). The ocean is both a barrier and a path, reinforcing DeLoughrey’s theory of transoceanic identity. Tipu and Rafi’s sea journey from Bangladesh to Europe mirrors contemporary refugee crises. Kabir & Bilal. “Ghosh overlays planet onto place and consciously conceals material space... showing how the climate crisis has pervaded every place on Earth, Global South and Global North.” (Gilson) The merchant’s mythic journey to Venice reflects historical transoceanic movements​ ‹#›

12. The snake goddess Manasa in Gun Island represents the cultural and spiritual dimension of water. The myth of the snake goddess Manasa links water with spiritual and ecological precarity. Hydrofeminism : Water shapes both identity and ecological consciousness. The novel juxtaposes Venice and the Sundarbans, showing how water erases histories and reshapes identities.(Neimanis) “Myths have the ability to ‘reach out to the future.’ They are portals to beliefs not bound by institutionalized religion” “The ultimate salvation lies in the co-existence of all creatures – all ‘bhutas’ (beings)”(Chatterjee) Mythology, Memory, and the Sacred Waters

13. Gun Island illustrates transoceanic connections, mirroring historical and contemporary displacement. Myth and ecology intertwine, showing water as a bearer of memory and change. The novel critiques Anthropocene-induced eco-precarity, reinforcing Blue Humanities discourse with aquatic ecologies . Water in Gun Island is a force of both destruction and transformation, aligning with Blue Humanities. As climate change accelerates, Gun Island serves as a literary intervention, compelling us to reimagine environmental justice. Conclusion

14. Alaimo, Stacy. “Stacy Alaimo From Exposed: Environmental Politics and Pleasures in Posthuman Times.” Uta , Feb. 2016, www.academia.edu/22070311/Stacy_Alaimo_from_Exposed_Environmental_Politics_and_Pleasures_in_Posthuman_Times . Buell, Lawrence. “Steve Mentz. Shipwreck Modernity: Ecologies of Globalization, 1550–1719. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2015. 225 Pp.” Critical Inquiry , vol. 43, no. 1, Sept. 2016, p. 211. https://doi.org/10.1086/688297 . Chatterjee, Sanjukta. “Engaging With Religion, ‘Dharma’ and Ecological Consciousness in Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island.” Epitome Journals , journal-article, 2020, www.epitomejournals.com/VolumeArticles/FullTextPDF/653_RESEARCH_PAPER.pdf . Ghosh, Amitav. Gun Island: A Novel . Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019. Gilson, Edwin. “Planetary Los Angeles: Climate Realism and Transnational Narrative in Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island (2019).” Comparative American Studies an International Journal , vol. 19, no. 2–3, July 2022, pp. 269–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775700.2022.2114286 . Khan, Rakibul Hasan. “Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island : The Climate Crisis and Planetary Environmentalism.” Critique Studies in Contemporary Fiction , Feb. 2024, pp. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00111619.2024.2314094 . Works Cited :

15. Mentz, Steve. Shipwreck Modernity: Ecologies of Globalization, 1550-1719 . 2015. Neimanis, Astrida. Bodies of Water . By British Library and Library of Congress, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, monoskop.org/images/9/90/Neimanis_Astrida_Bodies_of_Water_Posthuman_Feminist_Phenomenology_2017 .pdf. Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor . Harvard UP, 2011, southwarknotes.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/slow-violence-and-the-environmentalism-of-the-poor.pdf . Tiwari, Chetna. “ANTHROPOCENE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A READING OF GUN ISLAND.” Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) , by Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL), vol. 10, no. 2, journal-article, 1 Apr. 2022, p. 43. www.rjelal.com/10.2.22/43-47%20Dr.%20CHETNA%20TIWARI.pdf .

16. Thank You